As you may have surmised, I am an old-fashioned lady. I like wearing vintage Christmas sweaters. I like being grumpy and complaining about my health. However, the thing I like most of all is handwritten letters. One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is getting cards from all of our friends and family. My husband hates getting newsletters, but I love those most of all. Instead of dishing gossip, these letters are full of actual news: new babies, new degrees, new jobs. I love it!

There are endless ways you can wear your new wardrobe! My husband finds me especially attractive when I wear these versatile cotton-polyester blend pants. He says sweet things to me like, “How many days in a row are you going to wear your red sweatpants?” and “Do you have to wear your sweatpants so high?” There’s nothing like keeping the spark alive during the holidays, right? 😉

Not everyone celebrates Christmas with jewel-toned reds and greens. In some places in the world, bright colors are used because December is a warm summer month. If you live in one of these places, I want you to know that there is a sweater for you. There’s a Christmas sweater for everyone.

To celebrate our southern friends, I made a platter of Christmas nachos for dinner. Okay, these are not really Christmas nachos made with love while thinking of others. These are delicious nachos made with only me in mind. Me, me, me. I am so selfish. I hope I’m not on the naughty list this year. Do you think Santa could be bribed with some nachos?

There’s nothing more I like during the holidays (or any other day) than to sit in my recliner loveseat and watch TV. The only thing better is to sit in my recliner loveseat and watch TV while wearing an embroidered and beaded Christmas tree-themed sweater. (Say that five times fast.)

This sweater has lots of neat details, including the faux buttons on the outside. Decorative buttons are a pain to unbutton, so this clever sweater has regular buttons on the inside. Brilliant!

These pajamas were also a birthday present. I’m flush with prezzies!

Well, it’s time to get back to my regularly scheduled television watching.

It was much warmer today, and I was disheartened to see all of the friendly neighborhood snowmen melting away. Jono and I made a miniature snowman this Saturday, but there’s not much left of him now.

In honor of our evaporating friends, I decided to wear a snowman sweater today.

Today we went to Krispy Kreme to get their limited edition gingerbread donuts. If you are reading this on December 13, then you’re too late! You can’t have any. They’re here for one day only. Ahhhh!!!!

In your face, losers who didn’t get gingerbread donuts.

Another calorie-laden thing happened today as well. The ladies at my church gave me a small birthday party. They bought two cakes: one to eat at the church and one to take home. I’m very spoiled.

Did you know that Christmas sweaters are good at hiding holiday weight? 😉

It’s the most sweaterful time of the year! Yes, it’s back again and better that ever. It is the annual wearing of the ugly Christmas sweaters. Hooray!

I am usually against new sweaters. Christmas sweaters should be bedazzled and vintage. They should be found at garage sales and thrift stores and should smell like moth balls and grandma’s musky perfume. However, since we got Trudy last year, I figured I should get a cat sweater. So, I made an exception. I put this sweater on my Christmas wish list, and Jono’s Pops got it for me. Trudy loves it almost as much as she loves being held by me. Ha!

This weekend was my birthday, so that’s why there is a picture of me with lots of presents. I had a great time. I watched movies, put together a puzzle, made s’mores, and ate dinner with my friends. It even snowed in celebration of me. The weather can be so thoughtful sometimes. Anyway, Trudy and I have to go to bed now. We’ll be back with more sweaters tomorrow.

Today, Jono’s parents came for the holidays and got to see our house for the first time. They brought lots of presents and sweet treats. I was very excited. I couldn’t help but giving a few high kicks and shaking some gifts.

I asked my in-laws which vest I should wear over my new striped shirt today, and they both voted for this one. The buttons are a particular favorite of mine even though they are very difficult to maneuver. Family coming over just means that the big day is getting closer! Are you getting excited for Christmas?!

Happy Thursday, everyone! Today I am wearing a thrifted Loft dress with black and beige stripes. (The beige doesn’t show up so well on my professional DSLR camera, uh, I mean iPhone.) I don’t usually wear beige or any other warm colors for that matter, but I couldn’t resist this adorable dress because it is petite-sized, in perfect condition, and made of packable rayon material. (I just made three alliterative points. Maybe I should’ve become a pastor? Just kidding.)

Looking over my pictures, I wish I had accessorized with some purses too. However, I had a small window of time to force ask my husband to take pictures of me since he’s working two jobs right now. Oh, well. Let’s take a closer look at the pictures anyway.

Day 1: You are having tea al fresco with your delightful in-laws. Keep the sun out of your eyes with a cute straw hat, but still keep it classy with gold t-strap sandals and pearls. A classic white button-up is always right for a tea party. Tie it in a knot at your waist to show that you are crisp yet casual.

Day 2: Ignore my awkward pose and imagine that you are going to see a local play. Hurrah, you are supporting the arts! Subtly let your inner artsy side out by wearing your trusty striped dress with a Mandarin-inspired shrunken jacket, black leather strappy sandals, and black and gold suede tassel earrings. Feel free to say things like, “The director’s view of Marxism is clearly shown through the existential angst of the lighting choices,” while nodding smugly at your bewildered friends.

Day 3: You are exhausted from pretending to be pretentious last night (see Day 2). You decide to throw on a hoodie over your striped dress. However, your friends have decided that you must go downtown with them to see an improv troupe to lighten up your newly acquired artsy mood. You elevate your outfit by choosing a button-up knit hoodie, gold sequined tennis shoes, and dangly gold earrings. You laugh all night at the improv show. Unfortunately, most of your laughter is pitying because none of the performers are funny. Your friends chose this sad show on purpose to punish you for last night.

Last Week’s Thrifted Thursday

Day 4: You repent of your pretentiousness and decide to do something normal and healthy. You throw a denim jacket over your striped dress and drag your husband to the farmers’ market to buy eggs that are still warm from the fannies of cage-free, hormone-free, free-range hens. Ankle-length cowboy boots, a studded leather bracelet, and beaded hoops let people people know you are serious about buying organic. As you munch on a lactose-free, GMO-free, cilantro-basil-raspberry-corn-hemp milk popsicle, you realize that you are back to normal.

Day 5: Your book club is meeting at the library. Show your fellow readers you serious you are about books by wearing a shirt with leather elbow patches. This shirt will also help you combat the chill from the frosty stares of the other book club members when you bring up existentialism again. Pretend not to see their glares as you lower your black felt hat with gray bow. Dangly black and silver earring and black pumps with gray stacked heels complete your book lover outfit.

I hope you enjoyed my second Thrifted Thursday post. (See the first Thrifted Thursday here.) If you enjoy talking philosophically about art or like/need to eat healthfully, I hope you know that I am just having a little fun here. Actually, I am allergic to many foodstuffs, so you might see me at the farmers’ market this weekend asking local sellers if they use pesticides. Let me know if you have found any super cool secondhand scores lately!

It’s the inaugural post of Thrifted Thursday! This is where I will be showing off my second-hand treasures. My first find is my Easter dress, a hot pink Lilly Pulitzer. This showstopper was in mint condition. I wasn’t sure about the peplum, but I am personally always sold on gingham. Maybe it’s the country girl in me? Anyway, this dress was such an amazing find that a posh-looking mom followed me around Goodwill, hoping that I would set it down. Seriously, she was like those vultures at the Lilly for Target sale!

Anyway, I only wore it for an hour and a half at the Easter service on Sunday, so I decided to wear it again to Bible Study on Monday. I wore it differently each time, which gave me an idea to post how to wear the dress 7 different ways. I don’t think I will be doing this every Thursday because I still haven’t fully cleaned up the bedroom from the aftermath of styling so many outfits. Also, I don’t have a nice camera, so my pictures don’t really look that great. And it’s really hard to smile and “smize” for an hour. It’s even harder when you are an awkward picture-taker and not Tyra Banks. 😉 Anyway, on to the outfits!

I decided that I would make a week’s worth of outfits for my lifestyle using this dress. It is very bright, but I’ve added a considerable amount of color to my wardrobe lately. It’s way too hot to wear all black where I live. Also, sorry for the lighting. The sun peeked in-and-out, so sometimes the lamp lighting was all we had (and that’s why my skin is orange).

Day 1: Easter Sunday calls for being a classy lady, so I topped the dress with a small white cardigan. I pulled out my pearl jewelry and an envelope clutch (a gift from my favorite and only sister) to match my bow-bedecked, gold peep-toe shoes. (Fun fact: I wore these shoes to my wedding.)

Day 2: A Monday meeting calls for professionalism, but a writer also needs to look fun and creative. I paired my sweet pink dress with a well-cut blazer. Suede pointy-toe black pumps and a black foldover clutch match my black suede tassel earrings.

Day 3: A night of board games on Tuesday calls for something comfortable and casual. The cut-outs on the back of this sweatshirt give it visual interest. Wearing tennis shoes with a dress isn’t something everyone likes, but I think it’s a fun look. Note that I matched my purse because my matchy-matchy is my middle name. Actually, it’s not, but my middle name will never be printed on this blog. Who are you, my mother?

My very first Thrifted Thursday

Day 4: Wednesday is the Lord’s half day, which means you can be a bit more casual at church. Ha! Mixing this vibrant green sweater with a hot pink dress is not for the faint of heart. The sweater is a bit longer than the peplum on the dress, so I belted the sweater in place. I’m wearing a vintage enamel pin to show that I am a proper church lady. Ballet flats help keep the outfit casual. (Second fun fact: my husband gave these shoes to me before he proposed to try to confuse me. They were supposed to take the place of some other pink shoes I had when I was little, which is a story for another day.)

Day 5: Okay, so we don’t go to the fair every Thursday night, but let’s pretend. I love to go to the fair! The fair is still country even if you live in a big city like we do. If you’re about to pet bunnies and watch pigs race, then you better get in touch with your inner cowgirl by wearing a denim shirt. A big necklace, cowboy hat, and cowboy boots are also required. If you don’t have a cowboy hat, you must tease your hair. Big hair makes you closer to God. (Third fun fact: during grad school, a friend confided to me that she had a dream of walking into a thrift store and finding a great pair of cowboy boots for a great price. A little while later, this dream came true… for me.)

Day 6: Friday night is date night. I stepped the dress up a notch by belting a sequined wrap over it. A beaded choker and earrings, a beaded clutch, and stiletto sandals elevate your dress from last night’s fair to tonight’s opera. Okay, I’ve never been to the opera. Usually, we go to a really nice restaurant and then go back home because I ate so much I can’t walk anymore.

Day 7: Saturday afternoon I don the dress for a baby shower. Everyone will be dressed up nicely, so I wear the gingham peplum dress. I keep it casual with a jean jacket. Everything else is silvery or clear: beaded hoops, large crystal necklace, small crystal bracelet, candy purse, and jelly flats. I may or may not be obsessed with accessories you can see through.

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing one thrifted dress styled 7 different ways. I feel funny about posting so many pictures of myself. I’m going to go hide in my bedroom now. Oh, wait! I can’t because of all of this!

This is the ugly truth that style bloggers never write about on their blogs (not that I consider myself a style blogger). I better go clean it! Happy Thursday!

Oh, and don’t forget to tell me about your thrifting finds in the comments!